Electrically operated workman s



Sept. 28, 1943- A. RUTTIMAN EIAL ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WORKMANS TIIIE RECORDER Filed April 1, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 sept- 1943- A. RUTIIIMAN ETAL 2,330,387

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WORKMANS TIME RECORDER Filed April 1, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 2o; ,2 21 22 25 O Q J zy az 15,

, 111 j "'5 o o m Patented Sept. 28, 1943 ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WORKMANS TIME RECORDER Alfred Ruttiman and Henry N. Deane, Gardner, Mass., assignors to Simplex Time Recorder 00., Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 1,1939, Serial No. 265,554

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a workmans time recorder of the type in which the time record of each workman is stamped on a separate record card. More specifically, the invention relates to that class of time recorders in which a stamping hammer or other impression device is electrically operated.

It is an important object of our invention to provide improved means for automatically breaking the electric circuit after a single actuation of the impression device, so that the circuit cannot be held closed by the workman for an extended period and thus possibly disable the time mechanism.

A further object of our invention is to provide electrical operating mechanism for an impression device, in which mechanism a. stamping coil and a circuit-opening coil are mounted in parallel branch circuits. Preferably, the stamping and circuit-opening coils are rendered operative in a predetermined time sequence, largely by reason of certain innate characteristics of the coils.

More specifically, the circuit-opening coil and armature are arranged with a magnetic lag, which delays effective operation thereof until after the impression device has been actuated.

We also provide improved means for regulating the force of the stamping blow, and an improved construction by which slight movements or vibrations of the record card are rendered incapable of causing a second hammer movement.

Our invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which willbe hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an end elevation of impression mechanism embodying our invention;

Fig- 2 is a sectional plan view, taken along the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional rear elevation, taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of certain card-controlled switch mechanism shown in closed position;

' Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation, taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 2 and showing certain parts appearing in Fig. 1 but in a different position;

Fig. 6 is a diagram of an electric circuit preferably used in my improved recorder; and

Fig. '7 is a partial side elevation showing a modified auxiliary switch structure; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view, looking in the direction of the arrow 8 in Fig. 7.

Our invention relates particularly to means for supporting a card in a workmans time recorder and to mechanism for making an impression thereon. The mechanism herein shown is particularly designed to be set in operation by the pressure of the card upon a movablecard C support or abutment 20 (Fig. 4).

The card support or abutment 20 is pivoted at 2| on a lever 22, which lever in turn is pivoted at 23 to an abutment slide 25. The edge portions of the slide are guided and slidable in the grooved side members 21 and 28 of the card chute- A projection 24 (Fig. 4) near one edge of the slide 25 extends upward by the end of the card support 20 and prevents depression of the support relative to the slide 25 unless one corner of the card C is cut away as indicated at c (Fig. 4) to clear the projection 24. This insures that the card is inserted right end up and right side out, before a record can be made.

The middle portion of the slide 25 is out away as indicated at 29 in Fig. 4, and a plate 30 of fibre-board or other insulating sheet material is secured to the front face of the slide 25 in any convenient manner, as by rivets 3|.

The upper end of a link 32 (Fig. 4) is pivoted at 33 to a bearing bracket 34, which bracket is secured to the lower edge of the plate 30. The lower end of the link 32 is connected to be-operated by suitable automatic timing mechanism (not shown and forming no part of the present invention).

The printing or stamping blow is given by a hammer not shown but actuated by a square cross shaft 48 (Figs. 1 and 5).

An actuating arm 56 (Fig. 5) is clamped to the square shaft 48, and its forked outer end 51 embraces a solenoid plunger rod 60 and bears upon a flange 6|, mounted above a nut 62 threaded on the lower end of the rod 60. The rod 60 extends upward through a solenoid coil S and is provided with a plunger 63 (Fig. 5) loosely slidable within the coil S.

When the coil is energized, the plunger 63 will be drawn upward into the coil and will act through the shaft 48 and hammer to force the card C against the usual type wheels with a sharp stamping blow, thus printing the time record on the card.

Having described those parts of our improved recorder which are directly involved in the stamping of the record, we will now describe the devices which control the solenoid circuit and prevent the circuit from being maintained closed for any extended period.

Operating current is taken from line wires L and L', indicated diagrammaticallyin Fig. 6. If the type wheels in the time mechanism are electrically actuated, as by a small synchronous motor M, this motor will be separately connected across the lines as shown.

One terminal of the solenoid S is connected to the line wire L and the other terminal is connected through a wire 10 to one contact II of a double-break switch I2. The second contact 13 (Fig. 3) of the switch 12 is connected by a wire I4 to a return wire 15, which in turn is connected through a card-operated switch 16 to the line wire L'. The switch I2 is normally held closed by a spring ll connected to a lever 80 on which the switch 12 and contact bar 70 are mounted.

The lever 80 is mounted on a pivot stud M (Fig. 5), and the lower end of the lever forms the armature for an electro-magnet E, having a U-shaped core or pole piece 82. ll'he contact bar I8 of the switch '32 is insulated from the lever 00, as clearly shown in Fig'. 5.

When the switch 10 is closed by insertion of a card, branch circuits are completed through the solenoid coil S and through the electromagnet E. The coil S is commonly wound with relatively large wire of low-resistance, while the magnet E is wound with fine wire of high resistance. As examples, the solenoid coil may contain some 700 turns of No. 24 wire, with a resistance of six or seven ohms, while the magnet coil E may contain some 600 turns of No. 39 wire, with a resistance of 600 ohms. With these comparative windings, such a large current will fiow through the solenoid coil S that the coil will quickly overheat,

while the comparatively small current in the magnet E may be maintained indefinitely without injurious efiects.

A less evident result of the difference in windings is that the large solenoid coil, with its low resistance and heavy current, acts very quickly on the solenoid plunger which operates the hammer, while the magnet E, with its small current and high resistance, acts more slowly to attract the armature portion of the lever 80, thus opening the operating circuit of the solenoid.

This magnetic lag of the magnet E relative to the solenoid S is also increased by the fact that the magnet operates through a definite air gap when the parts are in the normal position shown in Fig. 1, whereas no such air gap is encountered in the operation of the solenoid.

The operation is as follows: When the card controlled switch I0 is closed, the solenoid S and E are both energized, but the solenoid acts enough quicker to operate the hammer before the magnet opens the solenoid circuit. The force of the hammer blow can be conveniently varied by adjusting the tension of the spring 71 (Fig. 2) by means of an adjusting screw 85 and lock nuts 80.

The screw 85 is mounted in a rearwardly and upwardly extending arm 81 (Fig. l), the front end of which is secured to the fixed bracket 50, which bracket also supports a stand 90 for the solenoid S, the contacts II and I3, the magnet E and the lever 80 and pivot stud 8|.

The more the spring 11 is tensioned, the greater the resistance of the lever 80 to movement by the magnet E. Consequently, the breaking of the solenoid circuit is delayed longer and the hamblow of the stamping hammer.

mer blow is correspondingly more forceful. Adjustment of the tension of the spring 11 thus provides a very convenient and practical way of adjusting the force of the hammer blow in stamping the record.

The card controlled switch 10 is preferably of the special construction shown closed in Fig. 4, and this special construction will now be described.

A contact arm I00 is pivoted at I0! on the insulating plate 30' and supports a copper strip I02 connected by a wire I03 and plate I04 to the wire 75 shown in Fig. 6. A movable contact I05 is slidably mounted in the free end of the arm I00 and is in direct contact with the strip I02. A fixed contact I00 is mounted at the upper end of a bracket I01 carried by the insulating plate 30, and this contact is connected to the line wire L' (Fig. 6).

When the arm I00 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 4, the circuit is closed and the solenoid S and magnet E are rendered operative, as previously described. It will be noted that the strip I 02 is resilient and free at its outer end, so that it may move slightly upward as shown in Fig. 4 as the circuit is closed. A light spring H0 acts normally to separate the contacts.

The lever 22 (Fig. 4) previously described has a depending arm I I2 provided with an offset portion H3 extending loosely into a slot H0 in a block H5 of insulating material mounted on the arm I00. A spring II'I (Fig. 4) normally lifts the abutment 20 relative to the abutment slide 25 and simultaneously raises the arm I00.

A permanent magnet I20 is mounted on the plate 30 in such position as to engage and hold the arm I00 when the contacts areclosed as shown in Fig. i. The magnet I20 is of sufiicient strength to hold the arm I00 against the tension of the light spring H0 but not against the combined tension of the two springs I I0 and Ill.

' The lost motion of the projection H3 in the slot H0 permits slight movement of the abutment 20 and the card C without opening the circuit through the contacts I05 and I00, which circuit will remain closed unless the movement of the abutment is sumcient so that the lost motion is taken up and the spring III supplements the efiort of the spring IIO to open the circuit.

This is a quite important advantage, as otherwise if the card is loosely held, a slight vibration of the card and abutment might cause a second With the permanent magnet in operation, a quite definite upward movement of the card must take place before the two springs can cooperate to break the operating circuit.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that we have provided novel means for controlling the solenoid circuit and for breaking the circuit promptly after a single actuation, which means is electrically controlled and entirely independent of the movement of the solenoid plunger. This is a very important advantage, as the circuit will be promptly broken, even if for any reason the plunger is restrained from movement. Under the same conditions in a mechanism under plunger control, the current will remain on the solenoid coil indefinitely and the coil will very probably be burned out.

In Figs. 7 and 8, we have shown a modified construction of the double-break switch which controls the solenoid circuit. In this modified construction, an extension I20 of insulating material is mounted on the upper end of the pivoted armature I2I, and the movable contacts I22 and I23 are mounted on a cross bar I24 which is carried by studs I25 slidable in bearings in the extension I2Il. Light coil springs I26 are interposed between the extension I20 and the cross bar I24.

With this construction, initial movement of the armature I2I, when the magnet is energized, merely takes up the lost motion of the studs I25 until the headed ends of the studs engage the extension I20, whereupon the circuit through the contacts I22 and I23 and cross bar I24 is broken by outward movement of the contacts and bar. This provision of limited lost motion between the armature and the contacts slightly lengthens the period during which the solenoid can operate before the circuit is broken. In some cases this lengthened period is found desirable.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what we claim is:

In a mechanism comprising a solenoid coil, a solenoid plunger actuated thereby, an electric circuit for said solenoid coil and a control switch for said electric circuit, that improvement in control devices for said mechanism which comprises a normally closed auxiliary switch in said solenoid circuit, an electromagnet having a coil of substantially greater resistance than said solenoid coil, an armature for said electromagnet connected to said auxiliary switch and efiective to open said auxiliary switch and to break said solenoid circuit when said magnet coil is energized and to maintain said solenoid circuit open until said control switch is opened, and an electric circuit for said magnet coil having the same source of current supply as said solenoid coil and initially operative in parallel with the circuit through said solenoid coil and auxiliary switch when said control switch is closed, said two circuits being thus simultaneously completed in parallel by closing said control switch but said magnet circuit being entirely free from control by said auxiliary switch, and said electromagnet from its greater resistance having an inherent delayed and slower action in comparison with the action of said solenoid coil when both are thus simultaneously energized, by reason of which delayed and slower action said solenoid circuit is opened by said electromagnet only after aid control switch and the separate but parallel magnet and solenoid circuits have all been closed for a predetermined time interval.

ALFRED RU'I'I'IMAN. HENRY N. DEANE. 

